Huawei announces X Labs platform for research in mobile broadband

Huawei X Labs is a research platform that is designed to explore three separate areas of mobile communications.

Huawei has announced a new research platform called X Labs for research in mobile communications.

Huawei has announced a new research platform called X Labs, which aims to bring together technology providers, operators, and vertical industry partners to explore the future for ‘mobile applications, drive innovation in business and technology, and promote an open industry ecosystem.’ The announcement was made by Deputy Chairman and Rotating CEO of Huawei, Ken Hu in his keynote speech in front of a gathering of more than 1,500 telecom leaders, analysts and media.

X Labs is a research platform that is designed to explore three separate areas of mobile communications: people, verticals, and household. The mLab (mobile user experience lab) focuses on how to create immersive user experience in emerging mobile applications like video, live streaming, VR and AR. vLab focuses on vertical applications, exploring how mobile technology can enable the digital transformation process of all vertical industries. The third lab in the X Labs initiative, hLab, focuses on connecting more households and leveraging broadband connections to develop smart home applications.

“The first opportunity we see is in video. Video has become the most popular form of content delivery in media, social, and professional communications, like marketing. Video and images now account for more than 60% of mobile network traffic. Entertainment video is the largest part of this market, with plenty of room for operator involvement. In industrial applications, mobile video solutions for public safety, traffic surveillance, and logistics are also brimming with opportunity. And in the video communications domain, live video has become a huge global phenomenon,” said Hu in his keynote.

The second major opportunity for carriers is believed to be the household market, and the third was described by Hu as the vertical market. Hu said that seizing these three opportunities depends on three key factors: connectivity, architecture, and application-enablement platforms.